The phrase “practice makes perfect” definitely applies to Forex trading.  One of the most valuable tools a beginning trader can have is a Forex practice account.

The beauty of the Forex practice account is that it allows you to test out your trading ideas and methods without using any real cash.  Practice accounts use “virtual funds” to simulate the profit and loss you would experience with trading a alive account.

Most every online Forex broker provides a free Forex practice account to allow traders to try out their trading platform. This allows a trader to put the trading platform through its paces and test it for reliability as well as ease of use.

The use of a simulated Forex trading account can be very useful in allowing the trader to minimize mistakes. In the fast paced world of online Forex trading fewer mistakes equates to greater profitability and trading success.

Once a trader has traded with a Forex practice account they can then move up to a Forex mini account or Forex micro account.  There is a reason this is suggested as an alternative to going straight from a Forex practice account to a full-fledged standard trading account.  The reason is that mentally having even a small amount of money at risk is different than having no money at risk.  The objective is to most closely simulate trading using actual funds.